


Help Me Lose My Mind

by kcanwrite



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 18:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2742773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcanwrite/pseuds/kcanwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a visit back home, Rose worries about Mickey’s wellbeing.  The Doctor tries to cheer her up, but will the tension between them finally be too much?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Help Me Lose My Mind

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors with an enthusiastic bang. His mouth opened into a large grin as he adjusted the collar of his leather coat. Excitedly, he glanced around the TARDIS interior. “Rose?” He circled the console and stopped short. Rose sat on a low grated step, limbs pulled in, head in her hands. Her face scrunched and stretched in frustration. Sensing his presence, she let out a tense breath, ran her fingers through her golden hair, and looked up at the Doctor. “What?” Her tone was terse, unhappy.

The Doctor’s grin melted into concern. They’d just bid goodbye to Jackie and Mickey, having earned their blessing to continue traveling. Admittedly, Mickey had been a bit pouty about the whole ordeal, shrugging between comments and less-than-subtly slipping his disapproval into conversation. The Doctor would have loved to slip in some snide comebacks of his own, but he didn’t want to upset Rose by starting an argument. He had hoped Rose was too caught up in relating their adventures to notice the tension, but he should have known better. Her sense of perception often rivaled his own.

He sat down on the step, leaving a respectable amount of distance between them. The Doctor cleared his throat. “I know…” He crinkled his brow and started again. “If you need to stay with Mickey this time around, I—” He fidgeted. “It’s hard being away from the people you… The familiarity is…”

Rose touched his hand lightly, paused to consider, then held it. “Stop.” She waited for his eyes to meet hers. “I love traveling with you.” Her mouth stretched into something of a smile, but it didn’t quite reach her brown eyes. “I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”

“But?”

She grasped his hand with both of hers and sighed. “But it’s hard when the people I care about don’t understand.” A long pause passed between them. “Mickey is important to me. His happiness is important to me. I’ve tried to be honest with him, but I’m—” She sighed again. “He’s…”

“A bit like a lost puppy?”

Rose glared, holding back a small giggle. “Don’t be rude.”

The Doctor shrugged. “You need to talk to him.” he stated more than asked, knowing the answer.

Rose bit her lip, staring at her lap. She withdrew her hands to support her head and let them slide down her neck. “Yes,” she moaned. Recently, these talks between her and Mickey were stressful and difficult to navigate. Her heart just wasn’t in it anymore.

The Doctor nodded a bit, considering her response. “Right now?” He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

She side-eyed him. “S’pose not.” Rose’s grin peeked through.

“Bit more running, then?” He bumped her shoulder with his.

Her smile was full-blown. “Bit more running.”

The Doctor stood and offered his hand. Rose took it, and he pulled her up to stand with him. He smiled at her, mischief dancing in his eyes. She giggled, “Oh, no.” The Doctor spun Rose under his arm, then drew her in for a graceful dip. 

She laughed aloud and stood before him. “You know, you don’t use those moves of yours often enough.”

“Is that so?” He placed a hand on the small of her back and broke into a waltz, twirling them around and around the TARDIS console. 

She let him take the lead, one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. If she could, Rose would dance like this forever, allowing all her problems to fade away. But she couldn’t do that, she had to return to her life on Earth, eventually. She let the dance continue for a few minutes, but her sense of responsibility only grew. “We can’t just keep running,” Rose whispered, reluctant to ruin their moment of respite.

The Doctor paused to spin her under his arm again, pulling her closer than before. They paused there. “Why not?” His tone was only mockingly serious.

“I dunno.” She responded to his touch, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. Responsibilities?”

He rolled his eyes dramatically. “Hah! Overrated!”

She smiled as they resumed dancing. “Oh, are they?”

“Entirely! They’re best completely avoided.” He grinned at her as they circled the TARDIS console.

She squinted at him playfully. “You can be incredibly persuasive, sometimes.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He spun her once, twice, three times, then dipped her again, hand bracing her back.

Rose let her head fall into the movement, hair brushing the floor and catching the TARDIS’s glow. The moment lasted longer than it should have, tension intensifying. When the Doctor guided her up, their noses brushed. Neither moved as their breath mingled. Rose’s hand had ended up on the back of his neck rather than around his shoulders and she felt his hands, warm against her back. She slowly moved to touch his cheek. She breathed in. “Rose,” he murmured. Their foreheads collided ever so gently and his nose grazed her cheek.

As his lips parted, she spoke, “Doctor, I…”

He froze a moment before creating space between them. “Right!” He stepped further away from her, towards the TARDIS controls. “Course not.” _Now is not the time_ , he thought. _Poor judgement._ He shook his head, blushing discreetly, and cleared his throat. “Stupid of me,” he mumbled. _Ridiculous._

Rose reached out. _I wanted to_ , she thought. “No, it’s not—” Guilt overwhelmed her. Mickey.

They Doctor shrugged, attempting to brush off any awkwardness. “Still up for a bit more running?” The Doctor busied himself setting coordinates, determined to return to the carefree atmosphere of a few moments ago. Rose needed something to distract her, not something to add to her stress. He felt idiotic, but he hid it beneath an adventure-hungry exterior.

Rose paused to consider all he was to her, how often he supported her, and how desperately he tried to understand. In short, how happy he made her, even in moments like these, when the tension between them came to a head against better judgement. He could always puzzle out exactly what she needed. “Have I told you how fantastic you are lately?” She grinned reassuringly, playing along.

The Doctor smiled wide, pulling lever after lever. “No, but I don’t mind hearing it twice, either.”

Rose leaned forward a bit. “You’re fantastic,” she breathed.

He pulled one last lever. “You haven’t seen anything, yet.”


End file.
